


The One Time Red Gave Her His Hat, and the One Time She Took It

by jackandsamforever



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-13 15:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1231174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackandsamforever/pseuds/jackandsamforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is for the tumblr prompt: Liz wears Red's hat. Set in the future, like usual. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Liz sank into the hot water of her bathtub with a groan, immersed herself all the way up to her chin, and closed her eyes. It had been a long week of chasing criminals on foot, and yesterday she'd been clipped by a car as she crossed the road chasing another blacklister. It hadn't seriously injured her, but she still felt like she'd been run over; leaving her whole body sore and stiff. She was glad she finally had a day off, her body needed it. She reached over and took a sip of her wine that was sitting on the ledge, then leaned back and stretched her legs under the water; enjoying the quiet, relaxing moment. She knew it wouldn't last long, so she was going to savor it.

Just as she thought that, her cell phone began to ring. She laughed out loud at the injustice of it all, and reluctantly picked up the phone that was sitting next to her wine glass. She wished she could put in on silent, but she was always on call so she would get in trouble if she did.

She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Aram. Something must be seriously wrong if he was calling her, because it meant that Ressler and Meera were too busy to do so. "Aram what's going on?"

She heard him clear his throat quietly, "Hey Liz, Um..."

She cut him off, "What's going on? Is something going down at the Blacksite?"

Another beat of silence, then, "No, not exactly." She could hear the hesitance in his voice, "I have a huge favor to ask."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What is it?"

He sighed, "I've been called in to the PO to go over some technical details in a meeting. The problem is, I'm watching my Niece and Nephew for my sister, and I don't know what to do with them. Is there any way you can watch them for me?"

"Aram.." she said with a groan.

He cut her off, "Please Liz, I'm desperate. I have to leave in twenty minutes, and I don't have any other options."

She hit her head against the back of the tub a few times, then let out an exhalation. How hard could two little kids be? "Yeah, I guess I can help. I'm not doing anything important." _Except enjoying my day off_

She heard a relieved sigh, "Thank you so much, Liz. I owe you one."  
Liz smiled even though he couldn't see it, "I'll think of something good that you can do for me. Do you want to bring them over to my house?"

He cleared his throat nervously, "Well you see, I kind of promised them that they could go swimming today..and um..can you take them for me? They love swimming and do it all the time, so you wouldn't have to worry about them drowning or anything."

Great. Just what she wanted to do on her only day off when it was ninety degrees out, with 100% humidity in an over packed swimming pool full of kids. Blah.

She said in a falsely cheerful voice, "Sure. Just make sure they're dressed and ready to go before you get here."

She could hear the relief in his voice, "Oh sure, I'll be over soon. Thanks again, Liz." Then hung up before she could saying.

She flopped back down in the tub and completely submersed herself for a few seconds. She screamed as loud as she could under the water, then sat up and wiped the water from her face. Feeling a little better, she stood up and grabbed her fluffy blue towel and quickly dried herself off, then walked into her room to dig her swimming suit out of her closet.

It had been over a year since her divorce was finalized, and eighteen months since she'd moved into this apartment; but she had yet to use her bikini. Red and her job had kept her completely occupied, and she hadn't had time to lounge around a swimming pool in a long time. She used to go tanning all the time, but since she started working with Red over two years ago, she'd had little time off and little desire to.

She dug around a few boxes and finally found it. Pulling it out, she held the two piece up; one part in each hand. It was Red, with a little jewel in the middle of the top between the cups, and one on each hip on the bottom. She had bought it on a whim over three years ago, and had only used it a few times since. It wasn't over revealing, so it was perfect to take to a pool where there were going to be a lot of kids.

She put it on, then examined herself in the full-length mirror that was hanging on the closet door. She loved this color of red on her, and secretly wished that Red could see her in it. She knew he would appreciate it. Although they weren't together, because that would be against FBI regulations, they still spent all of their free time with each other. She didn't really know how to define their relationship, and constantly found herself second guessing what they were doing. They were often affectionate towards each other, but hadn't physically moved past a few lingering kisses every once in a while. It was frustrating.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she quickly slipped on a form-fitting black tank top and a red sarong. Red had given her the sarong over a year ago, telling her that she would look beautiful in it. She hadn't had an occasion to wear it before now. She quickly twisted her hair up in a loose bun, strands of hair framing her face, and called it good.

She grabbed a large beaded bag and filled it up with a towel, sunscreen, Aloe Vera, and some snacks for the kids. 

Just as she finished, she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to open it, and smiled when it revealed Aram and two adorable little girls dressed in matching blue one-piece swimming suits, while holding multiple pool toys in their arms. They had the same coloring as Aram, with dark hair and dark eyes, and she instantly took a liking to them. She smiled widely, "Hey guys, are you ready to go?"

They looked at her and smiled. One with a missing tooth said, "Yes! We can't wait!" And the other one just nodded, but still smiled.

Aram patted them on each of their shoulders, looked up at Liz, and indicated with his hand the one with the missing tooth, "This is Eilina, she's seven." He patted the other girl's shoulder, "And this is Akhita, she's six."

Liz smiled, "Nice to meet you. You both have such pretty smiles."

The girls beamed and Liz glanced up at Aram, "Where am I taking them?"

They usually go to the 'Great Waves Waterpark' over in Alexandria. It's about a twenty-minute drive, is that ok?"

Liz nodded, "That should be fine. You should get going or you're going to be late."

Aram slid his sleeved arm over his forehead to wipe the sweat off and nodded, "Ok, well thanks again...Oh" He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a few twenties, "Here's money to get in the park and to feed them dinner afterward. Hopefully I'll be done by then." He grimaced as Liz took the money from him. "It doesn't matter how long you are, we'll be fine. Now go."

He smiled faintly, bid the girls goodbye, and hurried down the steps and slid into his idling SUV, then drove away.

She took a deep breath and looked at the girls, who were both studying her curiously. "Are you ready to go?"

They both nodded vigorously, so Liz grabbed her bag and herded them down the steps quickly, and helped them into her Mercedes. She loved this car because it reminded her of Red; he had given it to her almost two years ago as a gift. She had had a hard time accepting it at first, but he refused to take no for an answer, saying, "Lizzy, Sweetheart, driving this would give me peace of mind for your safety, please just accept it." He had been so sweet and caring that she couldn't say no after that; she was glad she hadn't.

She slid in the car and turned to the girls to make sure that they had their seat belts on, then turned around and started the car. She took a deep breath; she could do this.

OOOOOO

They arrived at the water park without incident in less than a half hour. After paying and getting themselves wet down in the shower in the locker room, they hurried outside as fast as their legs would allow. Liz followed after them at a slower pace and surveyed the park. It looked like every other water park she'd ever been to, with multicolored slides and little kids running around everywhere. She found a lounge chair close to the kiddie pool and set her things down in a heap. She quickly dug out her sunblock and called to the girls, "Do you guys have sunblock on?"

They turned right before they reached the water and nodded, "Uncle Aram already put it on us."

Liz smiled and waved her hand, "Alright then, have fun and don't go too far away without asking me first."

They smiled and ran into the water, screaming in delight.

Liz took her tank-top and sarong off, sat down and put sunblock on her arms, legs, torso, and face, then slid her dark sunglasses on and laid back in the chair. It was hot, but wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be.

Just as she was beginning to drift off, her cell phone began ringing from deep inside her bag. She rolled her eyes, not believing how often she was being disturbed on her "day off", then dug through her bag until she finally found the offending object. She wanted to chuck it into the pool but answered it instead, not looking first to see who was calling, and in an annoyed tone said, "Keen."

"Lizzy." His warm, inviting voice washed over her, and she couldn't hold back the little smile that stole across her face. She hadn't seen him for a few days, and found that she had missed him more than she realized.

"Hey Red. When did you get back in town?" She sounded a little too happy to hear from him and tried to tamp down her enthusiasm a bit.

"Just now. Where are you, I have some information to pass along." That was usually code for "I want to see you, but can't say that over an unsecure line."

She cleared her throat, "Um..I'm actually at a water park babysitting a couple of Aram's nieces."

He huffed a laugh, "I imagine it's an interesting story about how that came about. How long are you going to be? I can meet you after you're done."

Liz suddenly felt overheated, so she began fanning herself with her other hand. "We just got here, so either you're going to have to wait a while, or come here and talk to me."

He was quiet for a few seconds, then said in a low voice, "I'll come to you. See you soon." Then hung up before she could tell him not to. That was the second time today that she's been hung up on; it was annoying.

OOOOOO

She watched the girls splashing each other and wished she could be that carefree again. Childhood was much more simple. She was so lost in thought that she didn't see Red until he was standing right in front of her. She yelped in surprise and put a hand over her heart, "You scared me to death."

He smirked, "I did try calling your name multiple times, but you didn't hear me."

Liz rolled her eyes, "Obviously."

She watched as he raked his eyes over her body, lingering on her chest. She took the opportunity to do the same while he was occupied. He was wearing dark blue board shorts and a white t-shirt with _O'Neill_ written across the front, and blue flip-flops; she was surprised that he owned any of those things. He also had a black fedora and amber-colored sunglasses on. She was interrupted from her internal musing by his quiet voice, "You look absolutely stunning, Lizzy. This is by far my favorite outfit that you've worn to date."

She dragged her eyes away from his forearms and looked at him, "You don't look so bad yourself. Did you have that stuff hidden in the back of your closet or something?"

He chuckled and sat down on the chair next to her, his knees touching the side of her thigh. "Oh No, we had to stop at some dreadful store to buy these clothes." He glanced down at the shorts distastefully, "They didn't have many acceptable choices, so I settled for this."

She reached out a hand and ran her fingers over the bottom of the shorts brushing the skin on his knee in the process, "Well I like them. You look good in blue."

They sat there staring at each other, not quite knowing what to do. Liz wanted to kiss him and give him a big hug, but she didn't think they were that far along in their relationship to do that. It was frustrating.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something, the two girls ran over to her, "Liz, Liz, will you come play with us? Pleaseeeeeee?"

Liz smiled, "I'm not feeling well, but Ray here would love to play with you. Wouldn't you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her in protest, but the girls spoke up before he could say anything, "Please Ray, will you come throw us in the air like our Daddy does? Pretty please?" They were smiling adorably at him, and Liz knew he wasn't going to be able to turn them down.

He heaved a sigh, "Sure I'll play with you. Go on ahead and I'll be there shortly." They yelled, "YAY!" simultaneously then speed-walked back to the pool. Their little legs looking like blurs.

As soon as the girls were out of ear-shot, he turned to her and growled, "Lizzy, why?.."

She smiled brightly then patted his leg, cutting him off from his complaining, "You'll have fun. Just go enjoy yourself."

He sighed, "Fine, but I'm going to get you back for this."

Red took his fedora off and plopped it unceremoniously on to Liz's head. It was a little big, and she pushed it up and glared at him; but was secretly pleased that he put it on her. "What's this?"

He shrugged and slid his shirt off over his head, "It looks better on you anyway." His eyes darkened and he moved closer, "And it's incredibly sexy." Before she could say anything, he turned and walked away towards the pool. Liz couldn't tear her eyes away from the muscles in his back that flexed every time he took a step. She began fanning herself again; feeling flushed.

She watched them play together for the next forty-five minutes, while keeping the fedora on her head. Red threw them high into the air and out like a cannon over and over, and the girls were having the time of their lives; screaming and laughing constantly. She fell a little more in love with the man after seeing him with little kids, and wished she was brave enough to do something about it.

After a few more throws, she watched him put his arms up and say something. She could hear the girls groan, but then they swam away and began playing by themselves again. Red made his way over to her, dripping wet, and she quickly closed her eyes behind her sunglasses, pretending that she was asleep.

When he reached her, he put hands against the cushion behind her on either side of her head and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "I know you're not asleep, Sweetheart." Then leaned his head down further, kissed her jaw and mumbled against her smooth skin, "I missed you far too much."

She opened her eyes and smiled, then put a hand on his wet chest and said, "I missed you too, Red, but you're dripping all over me."

He smirked and lowered more of his body on to hers; completely soaking her bikini and stomach. His face was right in front of her, all she had to do was lean forward a few inches. She licked her lips, and watched as he did the same. She began moving towards him, and just as their lips touched sending jolts of electricity to her core, a little boy ran by them screaming for his mommy. Reminded suddenly that they were surrounded by a lot of impressionable kids, Red reluctantly slid off of her, and sat down in the chair next to hers and began to dry off. She was still trying to recover from their near-kiss.

She cleared her throat, "Thank you for playing with them. I think you made their day."

He smiled faintly and nodded, "It wasn't too bad actually. I haven't done anything like that for a long time."

She smiled sadly at him, hating that it reminded him of his lost daughter.

A shaft of sunlight hit his body and she moved her sunglasses down to look at his skin. "Red, you're burnt to a crisp. Why didn't you put any sunblock on?"

He shrugged and pursed his lips, "I didn't think to, but now I'm regretting it."

She sat up and dug the bottle of Aloe Vera out of her bag, then patted the area in front of her, "Let me put some of this stuff on you, it'll help take away the burning feeling."

He stood and sat down in front of her and she stared at all the fading scars on his back. She wondered at the stories behind them as she began to rub the soothing gel over his back and sides; not failing to notice his tattoos either. She didn't dare ask about the meaning behind them either. He seemed to be enjoying her ministrations because he had his head leaned forward and was making small noises in the back of this throat.

She patted his shoulder, "Turn around so I can do your shoulders and chest."

He complied, and she avoided eye contact as she continued to rub the gel over his shoulders, and then his stomach. She moved her hands up over his chest and accidentally caught one of his nipples with a fingernail. She heard him suck in a breath, and she brought her eyes up to see that his pupils were dilated and his breaths were coming faster. She toyed with his chest hair, trying not to blush under his scrutiny, until his lips crashed over hers; she hadn't even seen him coming. He pushed her back against the chair, knocking the fedora on her head at an odd angle, then hovered over her as he moved his tongue into her mouth and slid it over hers back and forth. She kissed him back with the same fervor, and found herself getting lost in the sensation that was Raymond Reddington as he slid his hands over her stomach and towards her breasts. She began running her hands down his side and was just about to grab his ass when she heard the distinct sound of two little girls running towards them. She pushed him off hurriedly, not missing his arousal, and sat up as the girls reached them. "We're hungry. Can we go eat please?"

Liz fixed the fedora and straightened her bikini, then said in a slightly husky voice, "Sure. I'm hungry too. Let's get you guys dried off then we can go."

She grabbed a towel, and watched as Red grabbed the other and began helping Eiliana dry off. They finished quickly, and Liz put her own clothes back on then grabbed her bag. Red was standing a few feet away with his shirt back on holding one of the girl's hands on either side of him. She loved how they warmed up to him right away. His eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, but she imagined that he was still feeling the aftereffects of their kiss like she was. She wanted more, but unfortunately now wasn't the time or place.

They walked to the concessions stand and ordered a cheese pizza for all of them. The sat down at a picnic table and received their food in minutes. Red quickly pulled a piece down for Akhita and put it on a plate in front of her, then spoke quietly, "Do you need me to cut it up for you?"

She shook her head, "I'm a big girl, I can eat it like you." Red smiled and patted her back, "I'm sure you can, just checking."

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, half listening to the little girls chatter, and occasionally giving each other heated looks. He looked entirely too appealing in his white shirt, and she found her thoughts continually drifting towards their kiss. She wished she was at home alone with him.

It was nearing 6:00PM and it was time to go home; Aram should be finished by now.

Just as she thought that, her phone began ringing. She pulled it out and saw it was Aram, "Hey Aram, are you done?"

"Yep, we're just finishing up, so I should be at your house in a half hour or so."

"We're just about to leave the waterpark, so that's perfect. See you soon." She hung up on him before he could do it to her again.

She stuck her phone back in her bag and smiled, "Ok, guys. Time to go. Your Uncle Aram is coming to get you."

They clapped excitedly and walked in front of Liz and Red as they made their way back to their cars. He slid his pinky into hers and squeezed it lightly. She looked over at him, and the look in his eyes caused her to clear her throat and avoid looking at him again.

They reached her car, and quickly helped the girls with their seat belts, then met each other in back of the car. She took the fedora off of her head and put it back on his, then smiled, "Thanks for loaning that to me."

He smiled, "Like I said before, it looks much better on you. You should start wearing them, I'll even lend you some of mine."

She huffed in amusement, then said, "Right. I need to get these girls back. Thanks for spending time with us, it was fun."

He stepped closer, his eyes suddenly serious, "I think we have some things we need to discuss. Can I come over after Aram picks them up?"

She swallowed nervously and nodded, "Sounds good."

He put his hand behind her neck and pulled her forward for a soft kiss. His lips were warm and inviting. They paused for a moment, and he mumbled against her lips, "Drive safe." She deepened the kiss momentarily, then pulled back and ran her hand over his stubbly jaw. "I'll see you later."

He quirked his mouth and watched as she slid into her car and drove away.

Red felt like things were finally moving forward with her, and he was finally hopeful for their future together. All it took was a fedora and two little girls to convince her. He smiled at nothing in particular, then got into his own car and drove towards his future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you wanted to see their "talk", but I can't see myself doing it justice, plus it would be fairly predictable. So I'm going to move on to writing the second part of what I originally had in mind, where Liz takes Red's hat.

"Liz, please."

Liz sat down on her couch and muted the TV, "Aram, I have things planned. I can't just drop everything and babysit for you again."

She heard Aram sigh, "Liz, Cooper warned me last time that if I ever missed a meeting again that I would be demoted back to the field office." He paused and she could hear the strain in his voice as his voice dropped to a whisper, "They bullied me incessantly over there, I can't handle going back."

Liz closed her eyes and slouched down on the couch, then rubbed a hand tiredly over her face. She was exhausted, and didn't know if she wanted to spend her precious few hours away from work babysitting little kids. It didn't sound like a good time to her. It didn't matter if she liked his nieces, they were still hard work.

When Red had come over to her house that night after Aram picked his nieces up, they'd had a very enlightening conversation, and had made a few decisions regarding their relationship. They'd both admitted that they had strong feelings for one another, but knew the FBI would never sanction any kind of relationship they chose to have, so they decided to continue what they had already been doing; which was spend all their free time with each other and continue to build their relationship in secret. It was the only solution they could come up with where they would still be allowed to work together. There were a lot of names left on the Blacklist, so they would have to make some concessions in their relationship for the foreseeable future. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it in the end. After finishing their conversation, they had watched a movie, then he had kissed her tenderly and said he would be back in five or six days depending on the outcome of some business deals. She'd told him that she didn't want him to go, but he'd kissed her again, then told her he had to continue to keep up appearances and walked out the door.

Liz had been angry at first, but then realized over the next few days that she shouldn't be so hard on him. She couldn't expect him to just throw in the towel and give up on catching the rest of the Blacklisters, and she had to accept that.

"Liz? Hellooo?" Aram's voice sounded far away.

She'd been so lost in her own thoughts, that she'd forgotten that she had been talking to him. She cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry about that. I was um..taking care of the dog."

"Right. So can you help me out just one more time?"

Liz sighed heavily, and with confusion in her voice said, "When did you ever miss a meeting, and why doesn't your sister find a regular babysitter that won't have to pawn her kids off on a colleague?"

"I missed one yesterday because I had the girls. My sister's working two jobs now trying to make ends meet and can't afford to pay a babysitter, and until she gets some help from some government programs her hands are tied. I volunteered to help, but I'm regretting that now. I can't lose my job." His voice was nearing panic and Liz yelled over top of him, "Aram! Calm down." She paused for a moment and said quietly, "I'll take them. I don't want to see you get fired either, but this is the last time. I mean it."

The relief in his voice was clear as he said, "Thank you so so so much. I promise we'll figure something out after this. You're a life..and job saver."

Liz waved her free hand in the air dismissively even though he couldn't see it, "Yeah, yeah. You're welcome. Do you think they would enjoy going to the zoo? I don't want to sit them in front of the TV all day."

"Yes, they love the zoo. That's a great idea!"

She sat up on the edge of the couch to pet Hudson, who was laying his head on her knee. "Good, I'm going to take them to the _Smithsonian National Zoological Park_ , it's a great place for kids...So like last week, bring them ready to go so we can leave right away."

"Sure. Thanks again Liz. I'll be there in thirty. Bye."

"See ya." Liz pushed the 'end call' button on her phone and tossed it on the couch next to her. She had planned to do some much-needed deep cleaning today. It was way past due, and she was going to have to put it off yet again. She was the type of person who actually liked to clean and organize, so she was disappointed that her plans were altered.

She heaved a sigh and stood up, then walked into her bedroom to get dressed for their trip to the zoo. She wondered what Red was doing at the moment, and couldn't stop her brain from worrying that he was 'entertaining' other women. He was charming on his worst days, and absolutely impossible to resist on his good days. Women constantly threw themselves at him everywhere he went, and while in the past he wouldn't do anything to discourage their advances, she hoped that he did so now that he knew what her feelings for him were. She wanted to have faith in him, but there were always little nagging doubts in the back of her mind. It was enough to drive her to drink.

She walked into her closet and stared at the rows of FBI business suits and blouses. Almost every piece of clothing she owned was for work. She really needed to update her wardrobe; especially her summer clothes. She stared in contempt at the small section in the back of her closet that held last year's summer clothes. There weren't many options, so she ended up choosing mid-thigh length teal colored shorts and a white cap-sleeve t-shirt with a v-neck that just bordered on appropriate.

She had just finished putting a white bra on, when she felt a presence behind her. She stiffened, and was about to grab her gun off of the night-stand in front of her, when Red's low voice came from behind her, "It's just me, Sweetheart."

She visibly relaxed and turned around, forgetting that she didn't have a shirt on. She smiled, suddenly happier than she'd been all week, "How did you get in?"

He quirked his mouth, "You really need to ask?"

She didn't. Red could break in anywhere he chose to with ease. He stood there and stared at her, and she couldn't help but notice how good he looked. He had a white dress shirt with blue pin-stripes on, with the sleeves rolled up, and an unbuttoned gray vest without a tie. He put his hands in his pockets as a small smile appeared on his mouth.

She took a few steps toward him, then stopped, feeling unsure about how to greet him. They had only talked for a couple of hours before he left, and she hadn't heard from him all week besides a few "Good morning" texts. She saw his eyes drift down to her chest and she suddenly remembered she didn't have her shirt on. She crossed her arms over her chest in embarrassment, then started to turn away, until Red approached her quickly and pulled her into an all-encompassing hug. She closed her eyes, then wound her arms under his vest and held him to her as tightly as possible. He ran his hands up and down her bare back, occasionally running his fingers under her bra strap. She laid her head on his shoulder and said, "I can't believe how-" She cut herself off, too embarrassed to continue.

His hands paused on their path towards the waistband of her pants and he said into her ear, "How what?"

She shook her head and leaned forward to kiss his neck, right where she had stabbed him with a pen a few years back. He hummed in approval and buried his face in her hair, leaving small kisses on her scalp. "Lizzy?"

"Nevermind, it's not-" She was cut off this time by a knock on the door.

"Shit." She mumbled and reluctantly pulled away from his embrace. She had lost all track of time. Liz looked up at him and ran her hand over where his shirt was unbuttoned at the top, "That's Aram. Will you answer it for me so I can finish getting dressed?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips, "Li-"

She started pushing him out of the room and said from behind him, "I'll explain later." Then shut the door and locked it before he could come back in demanding answers.

She listened to him walk to the door and open it, then heard the unmistakable sounds of two little girls yelling, "Ray! Ray! We're so glad you're here!."

She chuckled to herself as she pictured Aram's face when he saw who answered her door. He was probably sweating bullets and stammering all over himself by now. She quickly pulled her shirt on and fixed her hair, then slid on her sandals, and walked out to save Aram.

As she approached them, she watched Red pat Aram's shoulder, then usher him out the door. Aram waved and said over his shoulder, "Thanks again Liz" as he descended the steps and got into his car.

Red closed the door and turned to Liz. She raised an eyebrow at him, "Since when have you and Aram become so friendly?"

Red huffed an amused laugh, "Lizzy, I'm not going to give all my secrets away." Then turned towards the two little girls who were playing with Hudson in the entryway. "Are you two hooligans ready to go?"

They both smiled and stood up, and Akhita said, "We're not hooligans!" Then dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Liz smiled, "Well if you want see everything at the zoo then we need to leave now. Do you two have everything you need?"

They held up small pink bags and nodded. Liz smiled, "Good. Now go wait out on the porch while I talk to Ray for a minute. Don't go down the stairs please."

They nodded and walked out the door, then started playing a game on the porch that Liz didn't even begin to understand.

She turned to Red who was looking at her inquisitively, "The zoo?"

Liz sighed, "Aram called me all in a panic again, saying he was going to lose his job if I didn't take the girls again so he could attend a meeting. I couldn't very well tell him no, so I told him I would take them to the zoo."

Red nodded, "Well you're entirely too nice. I would have told him no."

He reached forward and ran his fingers down her arm softly. She closed her eyes at the contact and stepped a little closer to him, then opened her eyes and smiled, "Do you want to come?"

He grimaced, "I'm not so sure-"

She cut him off, "It would be really helpful to have another adult around." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

Red quirked his mouth and ran his tongue over his lips, then sighed, "Very well."

She smiled, "Thank you. It'll help so much to have you there, and the girls absolutely adore you."

"Of course they do, Lizzy."

She rolled her eyes and took a step towards the door, but before she could get too far, Red caught her hand and pulled her to his chest. He leaned down and kissed her softly, then pulled back and smiled, "I've been thinking about doing that all week. I couldn't wait any longer." He eyed her legs appreciatively, "And may I say that teal is a good color on you. You're absolutely beautiful."

She smiled but didn't respond, and instead put her hand behind his neck and pulled him back down. She kissed him like she'd imagined in her mind the last six days. It was better than her imagination though, as he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, then slid it in her mouth and moved it with hers. She didn't know how long they stood there kissing, because she was enjoying the feel of his lips and tongue as he kissed her and ran his hands up her sides and over her ass.

They only stopped when they heard a "Ewwwww. Hey Akhita, look." They pulled apart quickly, and Liz took a step back so she wouldn't be tempted to go back for more. She was breathing hard, and glanced at Red to see that he was doing the same.

She cleared her throat and looked at the two little girls who were peering through the doorway, "Sorry guys, are you ready?"

They nodded and Eilina said in a whiny voice, "We've been waiting forever, are you guys done kissing now so we can go?"

Liz blushed and nodded, "We can go now. Go ahead and walk down to the car, we'll be right behind you."

They grabbed their bags and walked down the stairs quickly. Liz turned to Red and smiled at him shyly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away."

He grinned devilishly at her, "I had much more planned, but once again we were thwarted by children."

The looked in his eyes caused her to blush again for the second time in as many minutes, and said, "No more teasing. Let's go."

She grabbed her bag and walked down the stairs, and listened as Red closed the door and followed behind her.

She reached the car and helped the girls into their seat belts, then turned to Red, who was standing on the sidewalk by the car. "Do you want to drive, Red?"

He shrugged and nodded, "Sure. If you trust me to drive your car."

"Technically it's yours. So yes, I trust you."

He smiled and stepped closer to her, his chest inches from hers, "It's incredibly sexy when you say that. What your words do to me Elizabeth."

She waggled her eyebrows playfully, "I'll have to keep that in mind."

He slapped her butt softly, then walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat.

She was a little surprised at his playfulness, but figured he must have had a good week taking care of his "business".

She took a deep breath and vowed not to gross out the girls too much in the next few hours, then slid in the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.

Red turned on the car and looked at her, "Ready?"

She nodded, "Do you know where we're going?"

"I imagine it's the Smithsonian zoo."

"Yep. It's the best one for kids their age."

He nodded and pulled away from the curb and into traffic. It felt surreal to Liz, like they were a normal family going on a trip to the zoo. She had to remind herself that that wasn't the case, but she found herself wishing for something like this sometime in the future.

Red reached over and put his hand on her upper thigh, then continued driving as he teased her with his fingers on her inner thigh.

She reached down and laced her fingers with his, enjoying the feel of his warm and slightly calloused hand, then looked out the window and watched the people walking on the sidewalk towards their destinations, not taking the time to enjoy the small things in life. She realized she needed to be better at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this got away from me completely. I only planned on this being a 2 shot so I could get back to "The Future Mrs. Reddington" and "Hell in a Handbasket", but alas, there will be another chapter if you guys want to read it. As always..it's completely up to you. :) If I tried to fit everything into one chapter it would have been looooong. Thanks so much for all the awesome comments from the first chapter, they truly made my day. Thanks so much for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

They arrived at the zoo without incident and Red found a parking spot right up front; it bode well for the kind of day she hoped they would have. The girls shot out of the car excitedly, and Liz had to tell them to stay where they were so they wouldn't get run over.

Red came around the car and took Liz's black bag from her, then put it over his shoulder. He turned to the girls who were standing nearby and bouncing up and down on their toes, "You guys can begin walking, but you need to stay close."

They nodded and started walking slowly towards the front gate, as Liz and Red followed at a more sedate pace behind them. She walked next to him seemingly lost in thought, and hadn't said a word to him for quite a while. It was beginning to concern him, and he was insanely curious about what had her so preoccupied.

He sidled up close to her and bumped his shoulder into hers, "Penny for your thoughts?"

She glanced at him with slightly furrowed eyebrows and a distant look, "I don't think they're worth that much."

He yelled towards the girls in front of them, "Stop for a moment, girls." They stopped and turned to look at him with annoyed expressions on their little faces, but stayed where they were.

Red put his hand on her opposite shoulder and turned her to face him, "Is something bothering you?"

Her left eye twitched, and she didn't make eye contact with him as she said, "No, I'm fine. I'm just tired."

He narrowed his eyebrows, "Lizzy-"

She cut him off in a falsely cheerful voice, "I'm fine, lets go have fun." Then began walking again, leaving Red standing there staring after her. There was something off about her, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. It'd started in the car, and had only gotten worse since.

He pulled his amber sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and slipped them on, adjusted his gray fedora lower on his head, then followed after the girls; they were already almost to the front gate.

He quickened his pace and caught up to them as they walked through the entrance and stopped at a crossroads. Liz looked at the girls, "What do you guys want to see first?"

Eilina yelled, "The pandas!" as Akhita said at the same time, "The apes!"

aLiz smiled and looked at the map she'd picked up at the gate, "Well, it looks like the pandas are closer, so we'll go there first, then go see the apes. Sound like a plan?"

They both nodded, then Eilina grabbed Liz's hand and began dragging her towards the pandas; they knew exactly where to go. Red and Akhita followed close behind as they reached the panda house quickly, then groaned. There was already a long line.

Liz turned to the girls, "Let's go see the apes then come back to this one later." They nodded in disappointment and began walking dejectedly towards the ape exhibit. Red caught Liz's arm as she turned to follow them, "Lizzy, why are you ignoring me?"

She winced, but he couldn't see her eyes behind her dark sunglasses. "I'm not ignoring you, Red. Not everything is about you."

Liz turned to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She tried to pull away, but he didn't allow her to as he pulled her after him to catch up to the girls. Once they were close enough he said in a low voice, "Now tell me what's bothering you. Are you having regrets about us?"

She turned her face towards his quickly with a look that bordered on panic, "No! Hell No..It's just that..."

She shook her head and looked away, "Never mind."

He grabbed her chin softly and turned her head back to his, then kissed her lightly and whispered in her ear, "Tell me." It wasn't a request, but a demand, and she was helpless to resist him.

She heaved a sigh, "Fine. This trip just reminds me of when my dad used to take me to the zoo every Saturday; it's one of my favorite memories of us together." She swallowed thickly and blinked back the tears that were pooling in her eyes, "I can still see everything in my mind clearly, like watching a movie. I remember him taking me to see the monkeys, and making monkey sounds to get them to react as I yelled for him to keep going. It always left me in a fit of giggles and I just..."

She stopped and wiped her eyes, then gave him a watery smile, "I'll be fine. I'm actually glad I have those memories." While she'd been explaining what was wrong, he'd motioned with his arm for the girls to come back over to them while they talked. He didn't dare leave them by themselves for too long. Once he'd checked to make sure they were coming, he'd focused on everything that Liz had told him, and ran his hands up and down her arms comfortingly; which she hadn't seemed to notice.

He nodded, "I took my daughter to the zoo once or twice, and I still can see those memories in my mind clearly, so I understand what you're saying." He smiled faintly at her as she nodded, then took a breath, "It actually helps to talk about it, so thanks."

He nodded, then turned to the girls as they approached them. "Are you guys ready to see the monkeys?" They both groaned at the same time and Akhita said, "Rayyyy, we're going to see the Apes, not monkeys. They aren't the same thing you know." Liz hid a smile behind her hand.

Red rose his eyebrows at her, "Really? Hmm..I guess you learn something new everyday. Thanks for setting me straight, Akhita." He smiled charmingly at her.

Akhita preened importantly, "Yeah I know all that stuff. I got to go to a camp and learn about all kinds of different animals. It was so much fun!"

Red pursed his lips and nodded his head, acting impressed, "Wow, you're lucky. You'll have to tell me sometime what you learned, but in the meantime why don't we start making our way over there. We're burning daylight."

"Ok!" She grabbed Eilina's hand and began dragging her down the path, weaving around people as they went. Red turned to Liz with a small smile on his face, "I've forgotten what it's like to be around little kids; their enthusiasm is contagious.

Liz nodded and stepped closer to him, hooked her thumbs in his belt loop and pulled him flush against her chest, then whispered against his ear, "Thanks for listening." She let go just as quickly, and followed after the girls, leaving Red momentarily frozen.

As he stood in the middle of the bustling pathway, an older woman stopped in front of him and smiled, "You have an adorable family. It's so nice to see someone who truly loves and adores his wife and kids. Thanks for being a good example." Then walked away before he could say anything. He wouldn't have corrected her anyway; it would have been too difficult to explain.

As Red caught up to the girls again, Liz turned to him, "What did that woman say to you?

"She asked where the bathrooms were." He could tell she knew he was lying, but decided not to call him out on it.

They turned to watch the girls as they approached the glass wall and watched the Apes. Red grabbed Liz's hand and led her closer to the girls, who were pressing their faces against the glass in obvious fascination.

Akhita turned to looked at them with a wide smile, "They're so cool, I'm gonna die!"

Liz smiled and turned her face into Red's shoulder to muffle her laughter. She started to pull away after getting herself back under control, but Red slid his left arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side, playing with the hem of her shirt with his fingers. She turned to him and gave him a small smile. He returned it, then moved his hand completely under her shirt and rubbed the small of her back for a few moments, then moved it to the outside of her shirt once again. His teasing was maddening.

They stood there arm in arm and watched the two little girls talk excitedly with each other, and with other little kids that were standing there too. It was adorable.

OOOOOO

They spent the next couple of hours moving from exhibit to exhibit. The girls never lost their enthusiasm, and Liz found herself having more fun than she thought she would. It helped that she had Red by her side again after not seeing him for a week. It used to be when he left for long periods of time she felt relieved that she had a break from his constant mind-games and manipulation; but they've come a long way since then and things have changed between them. She watched as he walked forward and knelt between the two girls, a hand on each of their shoulders, and began talking to them in earnest about whatever random fact he knew about giraffes. She felt a pang of loss suddenly, for herself and for him, because she didn't know if either one of them would ever get the chance to do this with their own children. It depressed her, and she didn't want her euphoric feeling to go away because of a few stray thoughts, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and locked them away with all of her other child-related thoughts.

After a few moments, Red stood up and approached her. "The girls are ready to eat, are you hungry?"

She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was past noon. Her stomach grumbled at the thought and she smirked at him, "I am, what do they want to eat?"

"Hotdogs." He said it with such distaste that it caused Liz to laugh.

She stepped closer and kissed his jaw, feeling emboldened by the days events, then whispered by his ear, "You don't like hotdogs?"

She heard him swallow noisily and his breathing quicken, then he said, "I might if you make them for me and let me watch you eat them."

She pulled back and looked at him with their chests still touching, and forgetting that they were surrounded by hundreds of people, leaned down to kiss him. Just as their lips touched, the girls ran up to them, and Eilina said, "Aw come on guys, not again. We're hungry!"

Liz smiled against his lips and pulled back to look at them, "Sorry guys. Let's go find some hotdogs then."

Eilina spoke up with an excited voice, "I know where a hotdog stand is. It's just around the corner." Then grabbed Akhita's hand and started running away.

Liz pulled away from Red reluctantly, running her hand down his side softly, before turning to follow the girls; Red followed soon after.

The girls were standing in front of the hotdog stand talking to the man behind it as they reached them. The girls turned and started telling Liz what they wanted at the same time. "Girls, don't tell me, tell him. But do it one at a time, please."

They told him what they wanted, then Liz and Red stepped forward and ordered too. They received the food soon after and went in search of a shady picnic table or bench to sit on. Unfortunately the rest of the patrons at the zoo had the same idea, and there weren't any more shady places to sit.

Liz glanced to her right and saw a table available, but it was sitting in the glaring sun. She turned to Red in question, but he just shrugged and began walking towards it. Liz was already beginning to feel a little overheated, and wasn't looking forward to sitting in the hot sun.

The girls reached the table and sat down, then tore open the foil on their food and began eating hungrily. Red sat down on the opposite side and Liz sat down close to him on his left. They began eating in silence, everyone too hungry to make conversation. Liz started feeling a little dizzy and light-headed and wondered if it they were the beginning signs of a heat-stroke. She opened her water and took a long drink, and it seemed to help a little, but not enough. Red glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, asking if everything was ok. Instead of answering, she reached over and took his fedora from his head and plopped it on her own. He glared at her, "Hey, I need that."

She was already beginning to feel better with the top of her head shaded from the suffocating heat. She smiled, "I need it more."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes penetrating, then shook his head in defeat and turned back to his food. Score one for her.

Hearing giggles, she looked at the girls and said, "What?"

Akhita laughed again and said, "You look funny!"

Liz narrowed her eyes playfully at them, "Why?"

Eilina leaned forward, "Because it's a man's hat, and you're a woman." Then dissolved again into a fit of giggles again.

Red spoke up from next to her, his voice low, "I think she looks better in it than me." Then glanced at her with heated eyes; his voice husky and full of an emotion that wasn't appropriate in front of little girls, even if they didn't understand it.

Liz took a deep breath, averted her eyes, and began eating again.

They finished eating quickly, not wanting to sit in the sun longer than they had to, and stood up to begin walking towards the only exhibit they hadn't seen yet; the giant pandas.

Liz didn't give Red his hat back, and he didn't ask for it, but she saw him occasionally giving it longing glances when he thought she wasn't looking. She probably should give it back since he didn't have much hair on the top of his head, but she was enjoying the reprieve from the sun and was feeling much better than earlier.

They reached the Panda House in minutes and Liz groaned at the line that was still long; it would probably be at least an half-hour's wait to see them. She tapped both of the girl's shoulders in front of her to get their attention, "Are you guys sure you want to see the pandas? We can go get some ice cream or something instead."

The frowned and Eilina said, "No, we have to see the pandas. We always see them when we come here, it's tradition."

Liz smiled at the seven-year old's use of tradition and nodded, "That's fine, but we're going to have to stand in line for a little while."

The both nodded in understanding and Akhita said, "We know, we always have to stand in line." She said it in a "duh" voice and Liz couldn't help but smile.

"Ok, just making sure you knew."

The girls didn't answer, and turned back around to talk to each other excitedly about something they saw off to the side of them. Liz didn't see what it was, and didn't bother to ask.

Red put his hand on the middle of her back and leaned towards her ear from behind her, "I'll be back shortly, I need to make a phone call."

She nodded and turned to watch him walk away; his stride confident and cocky like usual. She found it incredibly sexy and couldn't take her eyes off him and his broad shoulders as he walked further and further from her.

She was interrupted by a little girl, and who she assumed to be her father walking up behind her and the girls. He was tall, with dark hair and eyes, and had a friendly face. He smiled at her with obvious interest in his eyes, and she saw him glance furtively down at her left hand to check for a ring. She suddenly wished Red was still there.

He reached out a hand for her to shake, "Hi, I'm Derek." He placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder next to him, "And this is Izzy."

Liz gave him a faint smile and shook his hand lightly, "I'm Liz." She gestured to the little girls behind him, "And they're Eilina and Akhita.

The two girls turned around and started talking with Izzy excitedly, and Liz wished Red would hurry back. Derek stepped forward a little, "So how has your day been going?"

Liz waved a hand in the air, "Oh just fine, just a little warm, but the girls are having fun and that's what matters." She realized that she still wore the fedora on her head and wondered what Derek thought about it.

He smiled, "I agree, my daughter loves it here, we come at least twice a week."

Liz nodded, but didn't know what else to say. She hated awkward pauses, and hated conversing with strangers even more.

Derek spoke up again, and said confidently, "So, would you be interested in coming with my daughter and I sometime to the zoo? You could bring your girls too, then we could have lunch somewhere. It would be fun."

Liz cleared her throat and said, "Oh, I don't think-"

He cut her off, his eyes cool, "I just moved to DC a couple of months ago and have had a hard time finding someone to spend time with. It seems like everyone around here is already married or taken." He laughed and Liz felt the hairs on her neck stand up. There was something off about him.

She smiled falsely, "Well you see-"

He cut her off again, his voice and eyes pleading, "Come on, just give me a chance."

Liz could see the reason why he was having a hard time finding someone; he was creeptastic.

She took a deep breath, "Derek, I-"

Liz was cut off again, but this time by Red sliding his arms around her waist from behind and pulling her against him as he spoke to Derek from her shoulder, his voice deadly, "She's already taken. Move along."

Derek held his arms up in surrender, "Hey she didn't tell me she was taken." He looked at her with narrowed eyes, "You could have told me."

Liz rolled her eyes and put her hands over Red's that were lying on her stomach, "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't let me."

"Yeah, whatever Bitch." He mumbled the last two words, but she heard them clearly. Before she could say anything, Red released her and stepped around her, his eyes thunderous, "I suggest you leave before something entirely unpleasant happens to you. I wouldn't want to traumatize your child." His voice was like venom and it made even _her_ nervous. She was glad his back was to the girls so they couldn't see this side of him.

Derek called Izzy over and walked away quickly. Liz could hear her crying that she wanted to see the pandas, but his stride didn't falter; she felt sorry for the little girl.

Red's back was to her, but she could see that he was breathing hard, trying to calm his rage.

She reached forward and rubbed her hand between his shoulder blades and said quietly, "Let it go. It's not anything to get worked up over."

He took one last deep breath and turned to face her. His face was an expressionless mask; she hated this face the most. He rose an eyebrow, "I'm fine."

She nodded and turned to the girls. They were still chatting away, seemingly oblivious to everything that had just happened. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Liz stepped forward and said quietly, "Let's just get through this line then go home. I'm more than ready, and I think you are too."

He nodded and ran his fingers over the brim of his fedora that she was still wearing. He lowered his voice even more, his eyes dark, "There are things I want to do to you while you're wearing my fedora, Lizzy, things that I can't talk about with prying ears around."

She blushed and slapped his chest playfully, "Stop it, Red."

He didn't smile though, and stepped even closer, their chests touching, "You want to hear one of them?"

She hesitated and glanced at the girls, then turned back to him and nodded shyly. He leaned forward and put his lips on her ear, then proceeded to tell her exactly what he wanted to do to her, something that included handcuffs, chocolate and his hat. After he finished, he stepped back with a smirk as Liz's face turned dark red. She was aroused and knew she needed to calm herself down before she tried to interact with the anyone.

After a few moments, she got herself under control and looked back at Red. She stepped forward and put his fedora back on his head, then said seductively, "I think you earned this back."

He smiled widely, the first time she'd seen that in a long time, then laughed out loud. It was a sound she never wanted to forget.

"Oh, Lizzy. That was just the tip of the iceberg."

She blushed again, then breathed out a sigh of relief to see that they were finally at the front of the line. She couldn't take anymore of Red's teasing without taking him right then and there; which was something that would scar every child within a mile radius.

The girls pointed out anything and everything to Liz and Red, so they were effectively distracted by the time they reached the end of the panda exhibit.

After they walked out, she turned to the girls, "K, girls, it's time to go. I need a nap."

The girls laughed, "You're too old to take a nap!"

She shook her head, "No one is ever too old to take a nap, including you two."

They both shook their heads frantically, "We're not tired."

Liz smiled, "I was just teasing, but it really is time to go. We've seen and done everything."

They sighed in disappointment, "Ooookayyy. Thanks for bringing us though, we've had sooo much fun!"

"You're welcome."

Red stepped forward and smiled at the girls, "We'll have to do this again sometime. I throughly enjoyed myself. Thanks for telling me all those interesting facts about the apes."

Akhita nodded, "I would tell you even more, but I forgot my book." She moved her bottom lip over the top one, "But hopefully I can show it to you sometime."

Red nodded, "I would very much like that."

Liz glanced at everyone, "Let's go then. Aram should be ready to pick you two up by now."

Eilina said happily, "I can't wait to tell Uncle Aram about everything we did today. He's going to wish he was here."

Liz smiled, "I'm sure he'll be very jealous."

OOOOOO

They arrived home within forty-five minutes, and Liz glanced in the back seat to see that both girls were out cold; so much for not being tired.

Her cell-phone rang and she answered it quietly, "Keen."

"Hey Liz, I'm about five minutes out from picking them up. Did you guys have fun?"

Red had his hand on her thigh again and was skimming his fingers over places where they shouldn't be.

She was distracted and didn't hear Aram's question.

"Liz?"

She cleared her throat and stopped Red's hand with her free one from moving any more, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Did you guys have fun?"

Liz smiled, "We had a lot of fun. You're nieces are adorable and pretty easy to take care of."

"Good, good. Hey I'm almost there, so I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

Liz hung up her phone and looked at Red, "Aram will be here in a couple of minutes. We might as well wait in the car for him."

Red quirked his mouth and tilted his head towards her, "Whatever are we going to do while we wait, sweetheart?" His tone was seductive.

She reached forward and rand her hand down his bare forearm, "Not anything you want to do with little kids two feet away."

He huffed an amused laugh, "You're right, I don't want to be interrupted."

As she opened her mouth to answer, Aram's car pulled behind hers. She stepped out quickly so Red couldn't do anything else to arouse her, and waited for Aram who was walking towards her with a smile.

She opened the back seat and shook Eilina awake softly, "Hey your Uncle Aram is here, wake up."

She opened her eyes sleepily and smiled when she saw Aram, then shook Akhita awake, "Hey, wake up, Uncle Aram is here!"

Akhita opened her eyes quickly and smiled, "Hi, Uncle Aram!"

Aram smiled, "Hey girls, are you ready to go back to my house?"

They nodded and slid out of the car quickly, then turned to Liz and gave her a big hug at the same time, "Thank you!"

Then they released her and hugged Red's legs as he rounded the back of the car, "Thank you Ray for being so nice!"

He patted their heads, "You're welcome. See you guys sometime soon."

They let go of Red and each took one of Aram's hands. Aram smiled at Liz and Red, then said, "Thanks again guys. I still have my job thanks to you."

Liz nodded and watched as Aram led the little girls towards his car. They were chattering excitedly about everything they had seen.

She felt more than heard Red approach her from behind. He slid a hand around her side and squeezed it softly, "Do you want to go take that nap?"

She turned to him and nodded, "I'm exhausted, and sunburned."

He grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs to her apartment. Liz took the keys and unlocked the door, then he led her inside. As soon as she shut the door behind her, she was pushed up against it by Red, who then crashed his lips over hers and kissed her passionately. It took a moment for her brain to catch up, but when it did, she moved her tongue into his mouth and her lips over his over and over. She wrapped her legs around his back and her arms around his neck and just let herself go. She was almost to the point of no return, when he pulled back, his lips swollen from their bruising kisses. He was breathing hard as he said, "Shall we move this to a more comfortable area of your house? Any soft surface will do."

Liz smiled and dropped her legs, but Red didn't let her move away from the door. Before she could ask him why, he put his fedora back on her head, stepped away from her and said, "Now let me _show_ you what I already explained to you back at the zoo." He smiled faintly.

She smiled and nodded, then took his hand and led him towards her bedroom. She looked forward to it, especially since this would be their first time. She knew he would be a wonderful lover.

They reached her bedroom and Red pushed her on her bed softly, then laid over the top of her and kissed her again with long and soft strokes of his tongue in her mouth; it was incredible. He moved his hands under her shirt as he kissed her. and Liz felt dizzy with desire. She hadn't felt like this in a long time.

He rolled off of her after a moment, then stood up to remove his shirt. She couldn't have moved her eyes away from his body if she wanted to. He reached out a hand and pulled her up, then began to remove her shirt as well.

He looked at her and smiled devilishly, "Do you have any chocolate?"

She grinned and nodded, then rose an eyebrow, "My handcuffs are in the drawer behind you."

They proceeded to act out his fantasies, and it ended up being one of the most incredible experiences Liz had ever had the pleasure of taking part in, and looked forward to many more with him. This was only the beginning for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, I know this is such a letdown from the first chapter, and I'm sorry for that. I hope you at least got some enjoyment from reading this, but if you didn't, then I failed at my purpose..haha. Thanks for reading and thank you SO much for all the kudos and comments. I truly cherish every single one of them. I hope to get back to "TFMR" and "Hell in a Handbasket" tomorrow. Please let me know what you think! :)


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